Two NEISD schools to open late

Vineyard Ranch, Las Lomas won't be ready for first day of school in August.

By Lindsay Kastner :
May 23, 2012
: Updated: May 24, 2012 1:44am

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North East ISD’s Vineyard Ranch and Las Lomas elementary schools will open late due to construction delays. Here’s where children zoned for those campuses will start the new school year:

Vineyard Ranch

• Pre-K students to Tuscany Heights

• K-2 students to Wilderness Oak

• 3-5 students to Hardy Oak

Las Lomas

• K-3 students to Canyon Ridge

• 4-5 students to Stone Oak

Source: NEISD

Two new North East Independent School District elementary schools will not open as planned in August, causing roughly 1,200 students to start the school year at different campuses.

“We've had numerous subcontractors that have walked off the project,” said Jeffrey Stone, president and CEO of general contractor Summit Builders. “I can only speculate that some of them underbid the project and decided to walk away.”

His Phoenix-based firm notified the district Wednesday morning that it would not be able to meet a July 16 deadline for completion of the two schools.

NEISD Superintendent Brian Gottardy began notifying parents, both in person and by email, a few hours later.

Students who were set to attend one of the two new schools will be sent to other campuses for up to a semester, NEISD spokesman Victor Garcia said.

Those scheduled to attend Vineyard Ranch Elementary will instead be sent to Tuscany Heights, Wilderness Oak or Hardy Oak elementary schools, depending on their grade level. Students zoned for Las Lomas Elementary will be temporarily reassigned to Canyon Ridge or Stone Oak elementary schools.

Garcia said the backup plan should not cause crowding at the other schools.

“Our commitment to you is that your child will start the year with the same teacher and the same classmates — and remain together throughout the year,” Gottardy said in a prepared statement.

The district will penalize Summit $2,500 per school for each day that construction delays push back the campus openings.

Stone said the company is “doing everything we can” to get the jobs completed in a timely fashion. It is still trying to replace the most recent subcontractor to quit, in charge of framing, drywall, painting and stucco.